TECHNOLOGY, DIGITAL TEACHING TOOLS, IT (CODING)

Minecraft: 6 Things You Need to Know About This Game

We all remember lego, don’t we? It was an amazing way to build something fun at a young age. Playing with things like lego enables a sense of freedom. The freedom to create anything you want -  castles, cars, trucks, cranes, and even heroes and monsters. If you enjoyed lego when you were younger, we’re pretty sure you’ll love Minecraft.

Minecraft is often dubbed the internet’s favourite game and is played by over 140 million people worldwide. What’s the reason behind its rave popularity? The fact that it lets you build practically anything (in the literal sense). 

This article is intended to be a complete guide to Minecraft beginners. We’ll break down what Minecraft is, its popularity, and the benefits of immersing yourself in the world of ‘online lego.’

minecraft

What is Minecraft?

 

Minecraft is an online three-dimensional computer game that allows players to build or create anything. The game involves building various structures with blocks across multiple terrains and environments while letting players participate in fun activities such as gathering resources, mining and crafting items, teaming up with other players, and engaging in combat with mobs or moving creatures. 

In short, the game is built for three essential purposes: building, surviving, and exploring. Minecraft is supported on computers, tablets, consoles, and even phones. The pricing plans for the game range from £5.59 per month to £33.99 for 180 days. The price depends on the device you use for playing.

Benefits of playing Minecraft?

Here are some of the most important benefits of playing Minecraft. 

Problem-solving and planning skills

Minecraft can teach you the art of problem-solving. For example, in the game’s survival mode, players need to build shelter and find reliable food sources before night, when monsters populate the game. In these situations, players are confronted with the problem of protecting themselves from monsters and can choose their game strategy from various options: from building an elaborate fortress to digging down and spending the night mining in the underground. 

Additionally, since a lack of food affects the player's health in survival mode, players have to think on their feet. These challenges encourage you to think about strategy and learn the importance of planning and problem-solving.

Learning about problem-solving and planning by challenging your friends to a Minecraft survival duel is a super fun way to learn.

Computer literacy 

Minecraft is a brilliant starting point in the world of computer programming. While Minecraft doesn’t teach programming language, using Redstone blocks- a special block in the game- introduces players to essential Boolean (programming related) functions such as IF, THEN, ELSE, and END. Simply put, these are the add, multiply and subtract of the computer world - the bare fundamentals. 

In addition, it is essential to note that many famous game designers today credit the start of their game designing journey to playing Minecraft. Moreover, Minecraft can also teach program coding to its players because it lets players edit the original game into their desired game modes. Cool, right?  

Creativity

The developers of Minecraft have been selling the game by advertising the creative freedom the game allows. Minecraft is an open-world game: no scripts and no rules to follow! 

Such freedom means that you can be endlessly creative in approaching the game. Even the sky is not the limit in Minecraft because it has custom modes for virtually everything in the game, even the skies!

Minecraft encourages thinking outside the box and building something that has probably never been created before; you’ll need to work your creative muscles.

Teamwork, communication, and collaboration skill

Minecraft also teaches you the importance of teamwork. To achieve your desired goals, you will need to team up with other friends (and even strangers!). 

Communicating and collaborating to reach a goal despite inevitable differences in thoughts, approaches, and ideas is a complex skill. Such skills will help you in future and make you more sociable. Networking and asking for help in relevant situations are necessary skills for any human being.

Mathematical, spatial, and visualisation skills

As we discussed earlier, Minecraft is a virtual lego. Therefore, beating other players in the game by working with blocks requires players to use and develop their spatial and visualisation skills. The ability to visualise structures in an open space is a skill that is highly rewarded in various popular subjects, including but not limited to engineering, architecture, physics, and higher mathematics

Moreover, since players have to have a robust understanding of the fundamentals of mathematics-addition, subtraction, division, and multiplication- while gathering resources for their inventories, Minecraft is a fun way to brush up on your maths.

We at GoStudent believe that a major part of mental and social development involves exploring and enjoying new things. Minecraft allows you to experience a new world, one with limitless opportunities for creating, collaborating and learning. With the right mindset, Minecraft can be one of your best learning opportunities. Get gaming!

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